Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Bill Rea <cctr114 AT it.canterbury.ac.nz>]

Jonathan wrote:-

>Just ine point: What the modern, Western reader might consider as
>sadistic, barbaric and cruel in David's behavior, the ancient reader
>might have considered as normative, even desirable.
>Even today there people who parade the bodies of their tortured victims,
>display their bloodstained garments in pride, etc.
>I agree that there is criticism of David, especially in the Davidic
>Succession Narrative, but one must carefully distinguish between real
>criticism and accepted behavior.

Perhaps this comes under Ian's heading of "taking the text seriously".
I agree with you, there are a lot of things in the Hebrew Scriptures
which we find repugnant but which seem to have been regarded with
pride. For example when Sisera's mother wonders why he is dealyed
the description of the rape of the women of the defeated seems to
be described with pride by the women of the victors.

Bill Rea, Information Technology Dept., Canterbury  University  \_ 
E-Mail b dot rea at it dot canterbury dot ac dot nz             </   New 
Phone   64-3-364-2331, Fax     64-3-364-2332                   /)  Zealand 
Unix Systems Administrator                                    (/'